Hsu Hsiao-p'u's Five Clouds and Double Star Inkstone Album

This twenty-page album of inkstone rubbings, calligraphy, and paintings was made between 1923 and 1928 for the leading Shanghai collector Xu Xiaopu upon his acquisition of the Five Clouds and Double Star inkstone after which he named his studio. In typical literati fashion, the album leaves were produced by a variety of Hsu's friends, who were part of his literati and collecting circle. The title page is by Wu Changshuo (1844-1927), and the ink rubbings show the engraved inkstone inscribed with the name Hongshi, who was the noted seal- and bamboo-carver Yang Xue(1781-1850). The fourteen landscape paintings, each by a different artist, vary substantially, but each is an idealized version of Xuretreat, the Five Clouds and Double Star inkstone studio. With the founding of the Republic in 1912, Shanghai continued its leadership role in literati style painting.